Stoller's lacy, stainless steel sculpture would wrap Evansville's bend in the Ohio River and other images around the new building's corner tower at Sixth and Main streets.

Other finalists selected by a subcommittee from 43 proposals submitted by artists and designers from across the nation included "Standing Light Sphere," a kinetic light sculpture by Philip Vaughan, a British-born artist in California; and "Triumphant Arch," a stainless-steel arch by Davide Prete, an Italian artist based in St. Louis, Mo.

Stoller's preliminary design focuses on Evansville's horseshoe bend in the Ohio River, woven into interconnecting arcs and radiating concentric circles using the "sacred geometry" of the Fibonacci number sequence.

The sculpture would stand away from the wall, flowing around the corner of the 70-foot tower, overlooking an oval pedestrian plaza in front of the new arena's ticket windows at Main and Sixth.

"People moving by the brushstroke patterns on the bright metal surface will see light refraction like that reflected on the surface of a river, creating dancing reflections of light and color in the eye of the view," Stoller wrote in his proposal.

If chosen for the commission, he would conduct additional "in-depth research" of the site to refine the project, he wrote.

Most committee members who commented on the proposals singled Stoller's out as their favorite, repeatedly citing the pride of place reflected in its bend in the river focus.

"For me, it says Evansville more than any of the other proposals," said committee member Marvin Byrer.

Ed Hafer, an architect on the committee, noted that, unlike the arches and kinetic light sculpture, the wall sculpture would leave the plaza area open for people to gather.

"This has the greatest potential," said Hafer.

The only public comment came from Bruce Griffin, who also endorsed "Vibrant River."

"It puts Evansville's personal signature on this," he said. He called Prete's arch design a "Mini-Me" version of the St. Louis Arch.

"We don't need that here," he said.

Vaughan's kinetic light proposal won a couple of votes in an informal show of hands at the end of the meeting. Prete's arch received none.

All of the proposals came in under the $200,000 maximum set for the project.